Sonar range vs visual range

[Seefer]

Originally Posted by kylania

Render range is 40km, you'll never see/hear anything beyond that. Ships will pop into or out of existence when they pass that range.

Hydrophone range is generally around 30-35km for initial contact from what I've seen.

The starter hydrophone works on the surface and this means you'll have approximately 1000% more fun since you'll catch a lot more contacts. Once you upgrade your hydrophones, or use a mod like UHS which correctly stops surface hydrophone contacts, you'll be lucky to find a ship, ever. You'll have to spend the time ducking under the surface every 2 hours, hoping you're close enough to something to hear it. At first it's "realistic" and "fun", then it's "tedious" and "stupid".

I usually end up meeting enough targets or a convoy on the way to a patrol zone so that I sometimes don't make it there at all. Otherwise I just poke around known shipping routes for targets.

I've just finished the British Coastal Waters and now on Blockade of Germany. Am I going to have a really horrible time with this damn KBD hydrophone then

I thought you had to be in range of a patrol point for a certain period for it to be completed. Are you saying that on the way, if you encounter some ships and sink them, they count towards patrol completion even if you're not near the patrol point?